Pilgrims Scale Mount Arafat at Peak of Hajj

A sea of pilgrims ascended Mount Arafat in Saudi Arabia Monday to pray and repent, the climax of the annual hajj bringing together more than 2 million Muslims from around the world.

Carrying brightly colored umbrellas under the blazing sun, worshippers scaled the rocky hill southeast of the holy city of Mecca to atone for their sins.

Nearly 2.4 million Muslims made the trip to western Saudi Arabia, home to Islam’s holiest sites, the kingdom’s statistics authority reported.

Some of the pilgrims - men in white seamless garments and women in loose dresses – pushed elderly relatives in wheelchairs on the second day of the hajj, one of the world’s largest annual gatherings.

After sunset prayers, pilgrims made their way down Mount Arafat to Muzdalifah, another holy site where they will sleep under the stars to prepare for the last stage of hajj, a symbolic “stoning of the devil” ritual.

Buses could be seen parked around the hill as workers hurriedly picked up empty water bottles near a yellow sign that read “Arafat starts here” in both English and Arabic.